Bible Answer Man Converts to Eastern Orthodox!

[Evangelical]

Originally Posted by Koinonia

Miami Herald: "How a photo of radio’s ‘Bible Answer Man’ in church lost him thousands of listeners"

Is this the kind of unity that people on this forum keep telling me exists between denominations?

But some evangelical hard-liners weren’t buying it. They seized on, for example, the Orthodox Christian traditions of asking saints to intercede with God and using icons, or holy images, of Christ, Mary and the saints for meditation and learning.

Perhaps if he had joined the local churches instead of Orthodox he would not have gotten this sort of backlash.

[awareness]

Originally Posted by Evangelical

Perhaps if he had joined the local churches instead of Orthodox he would not have gotten this sort of backlash.

Yeah, he could follow pope Lee.

[Freedom]

Originally Posted by Evangelical

Is this the kind of unity that people on this forum keep telling me exists between denominations?

But some evangelical hard-liners weren’t buying it. They seized on, for example, the Orthodox Christian traditions of asking saints to intercede with God and using icons, or holy images, of Christ, Mary and the saints for meditation and learning.

Perhaps if he had joined the local churches instead of Orthodox he would not have gotten this sort of backlash.

I don't see the problem with the backlash against Hank's sudden change. There is no reason why all his listeners should have to treat his conversion to EO like it's not a big deal.

The issue here isn't simply that he converted to EO - that itself is his own choice. If he wants to take that path, he has every right to do so, and I wish him well in his journey. The real issue, however, is that he continues to head an evangelical apologetics organization. It seems he wishes to keep a foot in both camps, even though there are fundamental principles that are contradictory.

[Evangelical]

Originally Posted by Freedom

I don't see the problem with the backlash against Hank's sudden change. There is no reason why all his listeners should have to treat his conversion to EO like it's not a big deal.

The issue here isn't simply that he converted to EO - that itself is his own choice. If he wants to take that path, he has every right to do so, and I wish him well in his journey. The real issue, however, is that he continues to head an evangelical apologetics organization. It seems he wishes to keep a foot in both camps, even though there are fundamental principles that are contradictory.

According to past discussions on here, I thought all the denominations were not so divided? I thought that it shouldn't matter whether he heads an evangelical organization or not? Aren't they all the one body?

At least this is what some members on here have tried to convince me about. This example shows otherwise.

[Freedom]

Originally Posted by Evangelical

According to past discussions on here, I thought all the denominations were not so divided? I thought that it shouldn't matter whether he heads an evangelical organization or not? Aren't they all the one body?

At least this is what some members on here have tried to convince me about. This example shows otherwise.

Nice try, but you’re comparing apples and oranges. Groups like the EOC and RCC each lay claim to be the one true church:

The Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox communion and the Assyrian Church of the East each understands itself as the one and only original church.
…
Mainstream Protestants regard all Christians as members of the Christian Church; this belief is sometimes referred to by the theological term, "invisible church".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_true_church

Between protestant Christianity as a whole, and the groups noted above, it is impossible to achieve any type of meaningful unity. There are fundamental differences in belief. You already know this. I don’t need to list all the things that protestants reject. At a very basic level, this is one of the things that unifies protestant Christianity despite all the doctrinal disagreements. As far as I'm concerned division over doctrine is minor. Division over claims to be the one true church is major.

I’m not out to criticize the EOC or RCC, as I believe that those who are part of such groups are earnest in the pursuit of principles that they believe in. At the same time, however, those principles don’t reflect what groups like Hank’s listeners would believe in. So yet again, I pose the question - why should they be accepting of his sudden change? If he wants to be EO, then he should start a ministry defending EO views, not continue to purport to speak on behalf of a demographic that he no longer supports.